We cat owners are always looking for something fun and educational for our fur babies, right? CatastrophiCreations is a company that makes wall-mounted cat furniture in unconventional designs.

CatastrophiCreations started as the owners Megan and Mike built furniture for their own cats, and the rest just grew from there! Today, we have a little Q&A with founder/owner Megan Hanneman who gives us a little insight into their company and some of their fun kitty furniture designs.

That Cat Blog: What was the inspiration? Obviously you have 3 cats which were probably a big part of it, but was there a particular instance where you had a "light bulb" moment?

Megan Hanneman: Our inspiration came when we bought a standard cat tree from a pet store, when we were trying to prepare our home for the new kitten we were getting soon. The tree seemed flimsy, wasn't particularly attractive, and took up precious floor space in our small Portland apartment. Mike got to work building a wall-mounted cat bridge. We really liked the way it came out (so did the cats), so we decided to try selling them online.

TCB: How do you come up with the ideas for the different themes? Indiana Jones, Mario Complex, etc. Do you have any background in woodworking/manufacturing? Or has it been a "learn as you go" type of thing?

MH: The themed pieces we've done have come from things we're both big fans of; for instance we both grew up in the 80's and 90's playing video games, and so we're both huge Super Mario-lovers. Neither of us had any prior experience doing this type of work before we started; it has been very much a learning process. Along the way, we've had several great people with woodworking expertise help us refine our processes.

Floating sisal posts: way better than a cat tree.

TCB: What are your kitties' favorite structures? What are the 2 or 3 most popular overall? Why do you think that is?

MH: Our cats' favorites are the large complexes we make that pair fabric hammocks with sisal poles, like the Sky Track and the Roman Cat Fort. These complexes allow plenty of room for them to chase each other around, and then nap afterwards. Among customers and their cats, the Indiana Jones Bridge is extremely popular, along with the Deluxe Playplace and the Floating Sisal Posts.

Cat Sky Track

Roman Cat Fort

TCB: What's been the most rewarding thing about this endeavor? What about the hardest?

MH: Sometimes we still can't believe that we're able to do this for a living. It started out as a hobby, and it's something we love to do. At the end of the day, we love our jobs, and that's so rare and important in life. The hardest part about owning a small business is the fact that we're never really off the clock. We're so passionate about the business that it's hard to put it down when we should be winding down. But we're pretty good about making sure we build some leisure time into our schedules.

…And leisure time for the kitties, too!

TCB: What are your plans for the company's future? A "Creation" in every cat owner's home?

MH: We always have a few irons in the fire, be they new pieces or new ideas on where and how to market our furniture. We plan to keep growing the business and to see where it takes us!